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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

How to launch and grow your product | Ryan Hoover of Product Hunt and Weekend Fund

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Lenny Rachitsky

Technology, Business, Entrepreneurship

51.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2022

⏱️ 70 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Thousands of new products launch each year, but very few make it. Ryan Hoover has seen thousands of products launched over the course of his time running Product Hunt, and through his investing, and in this episode you’ll hear what Ryan has learned about launching products, growing products, and raising capital. Plus, we play a made up game called “What would you rather upvote?” Join us.

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-launch-and-grow-your-product-ryan-hoover-of-product-hunt-and-weekend-fund/#transcript

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:

• RevenueCat: https://www.revenuecat.com/

• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny

• Lenny’s Giveaway Bonanza: https://lennyspodcast.com/bonanza

Where to find Ryan Hoover:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rrhoover

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrhoover/

• Website: https://www.ryanhoover.me/

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

In this episode, we cover:

[03:23] On being a tech celebrity

[09:02] Using Twitter DM’s as a content machine

[11:15] The questions most founders ask

[14:48] When should you start a company?

[18:28] Would Ryan raise money for Product Hunt if he could do it again?

[21:48] When should companies launch products?

[24:52] What makes a launch successful versus not?

[26:27] How to get to the top of Product Hunt

[30:01] What skill is most helpful for moving into investing and venture capital?

[31:39] What Ryan would do differently if he could re-build Product Hunt

[38:57] What matters most in life

[43:13] Which ideas Ryan would upvote

[48:05] What founders of consumer companies do to succeed

[55:33] Deciding to serve a niche or broad market

[58:03] The surprising parts of angel investing

[1:02:12] Advice for folks wanting to get into angel investing



Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I don't know how to articulate that feeling but that flutter in your stomach that you wake up with in the morning of just anxiety and stress and worry.

0:08.0

Being a CEO or a founder makes it slightly harder in some ways because you still have to put on this mask, you have to put on the space of confidence

0:15.6

externally and internally as well where people need to trust you. You also don't want to subject them to the same

0:22.4

anxiety that you're feeling and be

0:23.8

100% transparent.

0:27.0

Ryan Hoover is the founder of Product Hunt, which you already know.

0:34.0

He's also former Product Manager, which I did not know.

0:37.3

Currently he's a full-time investor with his fund, The Weekend Fund.

0:40.6

He's also an author of a bunch of great block posts and an actual book all hooked.

0:45.0

He's also really good on Twitter and in my opinion a very special human being.

0:50.0

Ryan Hoover, welcome to the podcast.

0:52.0

Hey Lenny, thanks to the podcast.

0:53.0

Hey Lenny, thanks for having me.

0:54.0

I've been reading a lot of your blog post over, I don't know,

0:56.4

past two or three years now, and I'm glad to see you do the podcast now.

1:00.6

That's cool.

1:01.8

Thank you, man.

1:02.4

That compliment will go straight to my heart and I will think about it.

1:06.0

Often, I appreciate that.

1:07.0

Cut that and put it on Twitter.

1:08.0

There you go.

1:09.0

Yeah.

...

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